Illuminated bike jacket

PDD in London partnered with Goose Design to develop this gorgeous sports-tech garment called Illum aimed toward bikers and their safety. Here's how it works according to PDD: "[We] employed a range of technologies to drive lighting, power, conductivity and switching in a discreet and elegant way that would not compromise usability. When activated by graphical soft switches, an electroluminescent print provides a 360 degree light source, which disappears when switched off. These features are powered by a solar charged thin film battery which activates the lighting via a transparent conductive layer."

The garment addresses concerns with safety for bikers while merging fashion with functionality. The result is a beautiful washable and flexible garment that is functional for the biker to wear during tough courses and keeps the biker safe in conditions with low or no light.

Headphones in your hoodie

Timothy Dubitsky created hood.e, a jacket with integrated headphones that broadcasts music into your ears from any mp3 player you plug into it. With an aim towards safety when walking through urban environments, Dubitsky integrated the headphones directly into the fabric of the hoodie so it plays music in your ears without blocking everything else out.

I've seen a lot of jackets with integrated headphones. Unfortunately, most of them simply allow for you to weave your own headphones into your garment to hide the wires and to keep it in place. Kudos to Dubitsky for designing a solution that is functional, solves a problem of safety, and that integrates the technology directly into the garment. My only question: will it handle the wash?

Additional source via Core77

The antithesis of original function

I recently discovered work by Joon Youn Paek who has some terrific explorations that challenge the use of everyday products by augmenting their original functionality. Pillowig, makes a humorous statement on our rapidly growing sleep-deprived lives by offering a functional pillow that you can wear as a hat. And Polite Umbrella adds charm by allowing you to shrink one side of an umbrella or the entire thing when passing by someone (I laughed out loud when I watched the demo of it in action).

One of my favorite projects is his exploration into sports garments and equipment, called Spoetry. He claims that the project "promotes self-expression by modifying sports gear", but a more interesting outcome that he hasn't articulated is that his augmentations force the wearer to interact, move and gesture in the exact opposite way that was intended in the original product (they also happen to be gorgeous). For example, when two people are riding on a bike, the person in the back normally sits facing the person in the front so they can hold on and see where they're going. His tandem bike helmet forces the passenger to sit facing backwards, stripping them of the ability to see where they're going and to hold on for dear life.

A somewhat decent implementation of solar

One of the biggest challenges for personal computing devices, especially with wearable technology, is power. It's difficult to obtain and it's expensive and bulky to store. So, I'm always on the quest to find alternative sources of power.

One of the most readily available resources is the sun and there have been a variety of explorations into solar cells and panels. The problem with solar, although improving, is twofold: (1) the current can sometimes be abysmal to obtain along with the wattage, (2) most of the options for solar panels that are currently available and that generate enough power are large, bulky, and expensive. Not ideal for a soft and flexible moving garment.

With those limitations, some attempts have been made such as the eclipse solar bags. But they look as though someone slapped a large bulky solar panel on the side of a standard bag. Little attempt was made to truly integrate the technology into the product or garment. Even worse, are the solar bags from Treehugger. If you've ever carried one around, although technologically functional, they are heavy, bulky and seems to be void of any fashion consideration whatsoever.

One garment that has potential is the Zegna Ski Jacket that incorporates solar panels into the collar. What I like about this is the attempt to integrate it into the design of the garment and the implied gesture of "popping your collar" to expose the panels and activate them. However, I'm not sure that this is the right gesture for ski culture.

Overall, garments that sense and react should leverage the natural gestures implied by the garment, its culture, and its context so that they feel like second nature as you are wearing them as your second skin. Zegna does a good job encorporating a technology that is challenging and limiting into a functional fashion line.

Shock-absorbing flexible plastic

d3o lab has an incredible new material that absorbs hits and shocks. It's a soft, putty-like plastic that you can squish in your hand. When it experiences blunt force, such as smacking it with a hammer, the plastic instantly hardens.

d3o's flexible plastic is already integrated into many brands and products such as Quicksilver, Northface, Armadillo to name a few. I particular love Ignite's soft hats and beanies that can be used as a snowboarding helmet. The technology and function does not compromise the aesthetics. I'm definitely getting one of these for the slopes: